Fall 2026

C ompleted in 1932, iconic Bixby Creek Bridge remains an engi- neering and aesthetic triumph.When the bridge was built, it was the highest and longest single-span arch bridge in the world.Yet Bixby Creek Bridge, as we know it, almost never was. Spanning Bixby Creek represented the greatest engineering challenge in construction of the Big Sur Coast Highway. A second configuration option, involving an 890-foot tunnel and a 250-foot, up-canyon bridge, was in many ways an easier solution. However, this option was rejected by the California Division of Highways, in part to optimize the aesthetic experience for vis- itors. For the coast-hugging option, both metal and concrete bridge options were considered. The concrete option was chosen because it was a bit less expen- sive, and for aesthetic reasons. The contract for Bixby Creek Bridge was awarded in August 1931 to Ward Construction Company of San Francisco. Skilled laborers completed the bridge 14 months later on October 15, 1932—an astonish- ing timeline for such a complex project in such a hostile environment. During construction, work was halted for a month due to severe weather. Construction of falsework for the arch required two months and 300,000 board feet of wood. Formwork (into which concrete was poured) was built on top of the falsework. 45,000 one-pound sacks of cement were used to make the concrete, which was mixed on site. Six hundred thousand pounds of steel was used to reinforce the concrete. Outlines of the forming lumber can still be seen on the concrete surface today. Seven hundred fourteen feet in length and 285 feet above sea level, the cost of the bridge was $203,334. Bixby Creek Bridge is named for Charles Bixby, the first settler in the canyon. Bixby, a cousin of President James Polk, arrived in Monterey in the 1850s. Soon after arrival he claimed land in the canyon and established a lumber operation and a cattle ranch. He and a partner built a sawmill, and the canyon became known as Mill Creek. Bixby’s oper- ation was long gone when the bridge was built. The bridge itself was originally called Mill Creek Bridge, then Rainbow Bridge, before the name Bixby became attached to both the bridge and the creek. Between 1998 and 2000, Bixby Creek Bridge underwent extensive seismic retrofitting.The project was complicated by the wise requirement to preserve the historic appearance of the bridge, with the cost of the retrofit reaching $20 million. The Making of the Iconic Bixby Creek Bridge The first pedestrians crossed Bixby Creek Bridge on November 28, 1932, during the bridge dedication. State and local officials spoke from the center of the bridge. Little Audrey Mawdsley of Carmel assisted during the ribbon cutting ceremony. 118 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • F A L L 2 0 2 6 The bridge itself was originally called Mill Creek Bridge, then Rainbow Bridge, before the name Bixby became attached to both the bridge and the creek. Photo: Courtesy of Monterey County Historical Society